23·2 undulating miles: https://cyclemeter.com/3432aa395de1d505/Cycle-20220817-0959-48514 (cumulative cycling 212·5 miles)

I spoke too soon in the last entry about getting into my stride. (Would cadence have been more appropriate?) The way from Neumünster to Kiel was mostly on tarmac cyclepaths (with occasional ‘drempels’ due to tree roots) but it undulated by a few meters quite often, and that was taxing. I’m also pretty sure I’m pedalling against some friction, despite Lev having been serviced not long before we left. (I blame the crap UK trains – no way were Lev’s handlebars squint before we left.) There were some patches of gravel en route, which had me singing something like Deutschland Deutschland ohne Wegdek mainly because Deutschland Deutschland ohne Straßenbeläge doesn’t scan.

We had a drinks-break at a lakeside café on the east of the Bordesholmer See. It night have been possible to swim in the lake (and the temperature made this tempting) but there was nowhere to change – there was a sign on the café door saying very strictly ‘this is not a changing room’ and I really didn’t fancy doing the last 10 miles in squelchy padding.

My much better half and I are really missing continental cycling holidays! However, over the past year, my legs have been suffering. My right calf is painful most of the time, my feet cramp when I try to sleep, and walking a quarter-mile to the nearby Caffe Nero can be quite unpleasant. On the rare occasions I spin, I have to stop every 15 minute to apply Deep Heat and stretch out the pain. A physiotherapist thinks I must have torn a muscle at some point, but I can’t remember doing this. I think I’ve cycled to campus once this year – lockdown has removed both the need and the desire, while Napier and Community Council work has kept me chained to my home-desk. 

However, this weekend is mostly free of such work. (I need to post something on behalf of NTBCC today.) So the MBH and I decided to take a wee ride to see how well we and our bikes are. The bikes are in good condition, despite being outside and unloved most of the time. Us? Well, we managed 9 miles from home to Cafe Milk in Leith and back. There was some swearing, and I’m terribly slow, but we kept going. The MBH was buzzing by the time we got home. Next time, I’ll try doing this route with Live Davidovitch fully laden. Break out your earplugs!

If you’re interested, here our our European rides. (Scotland was in the EU in 2014!) 

• Passau to Vienna (2012)
• Berlin and Vienna (2013), including the world’s best ever Eiskaffee at Tábor
• Scotland’s west coast (2014)
• Central Europe (2014)
• IJMuiden to Köln (2015)
• North Holland (2016)
• IJMuiden to Berlin (2017)
• the Rhine downhill (2018)
• the Netherlands (2019)